Loch Enoch and the Awful Hand from the top of Craignairny and how to find the depth of Loch Enoch

Craignaw and the Dungeon Hills
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34 Another angle on Loch Enoch and the Awful Hand from the top of Craignairny. There is a fascinating book about walking in these hills called "Merrick and the Neighbouring Hills - tramps by hill, stream, and loch" based on a lifetime of walking here and written by J McBain in the 1920's. He claims that Loch Enoch is "the most elevated body of water in Britain [at around 1617 feet above sea level]. But he was biased by his passionate love of this particular area - which is very understandable. My reading of Ordnance Survey maps tells me that Loch Skene in the Moffat hills for a start is some twenty meters higher than Lock Enoch. McBain describes how he went onto the loch when it was frozen, cut holes and lowered line to find the depth - going round the loch doing this till he found the deepest bit. Below is a sample of his text on the matter. This is a totally fascinating book for anyone interested in the Galloway Hills in quite a different time from ours. He talks of staying with the shepherd's family who were then staying in what is now the bothy at Backhill of Bush and how he walked in from Dalmellington in Ayrshire after finishing work on a Friday - irrespective of the time of year and weather and mostly on his own. He also talks of climbing down Dow Spout from Craignaw - which is much more than a scramble. He made his last ascent of the Merrick at the age of 83. There is a small lochan on one of the islands which is where his story starts on the pages below. A modern reprint of this book was made in 1980 by Jackson and Sproat Publishing of Ayr.

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